International market selection models: a literature review

Abstract

Objective: This research aims to characterize the current scientific literature on the different models of International Market Selection (IMS) used by Microenterprises, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) within their internationalization processes. Design: This characterization was made from a bibliometric and content analysis of academic publications on the two categories. Besides, based on these findings, it was conducted another search considering the papers cited in these publications (backward), and the documents which are cited by them (forward). Findings: Smaller companies mostly use cognition and qualitative models to select the target market abroad. For their part, medium-sized companies have a greater tendency to apply quantitative models to more efficiently carry out the IMS process, mainly using macroeconomic factors, and, to a lesser extent, microeconomic ones. The use of qualitative and quantitative techniques for the selection of international markets is highly limited in small and medium enterprises. Originality and value: The findings described characterize the state of the art of research on SME and selection of international markets, with an emphasis on the last ten years. This allows to identify empty in the literature and possible fields of action for the further development of this area of ​​knowledge.

How Do International Contractors Choose Target Market Based on Environmental, Social and Governance Principles? A Fuzzy Ordinal Priority Approach Model

“…Most importantly, OPA-F can be used to address the issue of incomplete data [61]. In light of the limited data in the selection of international markets [45], OPA-F integrates both qualitative and quantitative techniques to enhance the accuracy of decision-making.…”

“…Moreover, the proposed model has an advantage in terms of its approach to the weighting criterion. Market selection models can be categorized into two types: qualitative and quantitative models [45]. In terms of qualitative modeling, Chen et al (2016) and Li et al (2023) utilized logistic regression analyses to assess the impact of each factor in their respective market selection models [8,25].…”

A decision model for international market selection by entrepreneurs: a cross-country investigation

“…Finally, the overall attractiveness of each potential country is calculated based on the most important selection criteria, all potential countries will be ranked and, finally, the country with high score will be selected (Sütçüoğlu and Önaç, 2022; Aliyev, 2019; Kang-Wook et al , 2017; Afful-Dadzie and Afful-Dadzie, 2016; Aghdaie and Alimardani, 2015; Yelda Şener, 2014; Chen and Wang, 2010). On the contrary, the cognitive, behavioral or qualitative approach theorists affirm that decision-makers rely severely on their experiences when selecting the foreign country (Ojala and Tyrväinen, 2009; Darling and Seristö, 2004; Jansen, 2013), as well as their network of contacts and knowledge of the foreign market and other factors that depend on the subjectivity in the interpretation of the gathered information (Deaza et al , 2020).…”

“…It is also averred that carrying out a procedural market selection process by international entrepreneurs involves a high cost (Cavusgil and Knight, 2015) and, hence, small firms use the cognitive or behavioral approach in foreign market selection (Clark et al , 2018). Whereas, medium-sized firms have a greater propensity to apply quantitative models to more efficiently carry out the foreign country selection process, mostly using macroeconomic factors, such as GDP, GNP, interest rate, inflation, and, to a slighter extent, microeconomic ones, such as customers, employees and suppliers (Deaza et al , 2020).…”